Novels by Melanie96

Sitting on the edge of my bed, I feel the weight of everything pressing down on me, threatening to suffocate me. My family, our future, the lies I’ve lived through. My mind keeps racing, replaying every betrayal. I want to fix everything, to untangle this mess, but I know I need to start somewhere. And the first step, as painful as it is, has to be to extricate myself from Lisa and Josh.Josh. The name that once made my heart flutter now turns my stomach. Months ago, I would have done anything to hold onto him, to believe that we were building something real. But I know the truth now, and the truth is a bitter pill to swallow. He’s been with Lisa all along, sleeping with her, laughing at me behind my back. The thought burns through me like acid, and for a moment, I want to scream. How could I have been so blind?I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. There’s no point in holding on to someone who’s already gone. Breaking up with him feels like the obvious move, but I hesitate.

“Anna?” My mother’s voice cuts through my thoughts, soft and puzzled. “Sweetheart, are you alright?”They’re all staring at me now, my father looking up from his newspaper, Sam blinking at me in confusion, and my mother, her brow furrowed with concern.I swallow hard, trying to compose myself, to remember that for them, everything is normal. The last time they saw me was just last night at dinner. For them, nothing has changed. But for me, everything has.“I… I’m fine,” I manage to say, my voice thick with emotion. “I just… I had a really bad dream. A nightmare.”My mother’s face softens, and she moves towards me, her arms open. “Oh, sweetheart. Come here.”I step into her embrace, burying my face in her shoulder as she holds me close, the familiar scent of her perfume overwhelming me. I haven’t been held by her in so long. I haven’t felt her warmth, her love. I cling to her, my body shaking with silent sobs as I try to control the flood of emotions.“It’s okay,” she whispers, strokin

Tears well up in my eyes as the memories of them rush back. Dad, with his quiet strength, the way he would tuck his glasses into the pocket of his shirt when he was about to have a serious conversation. Mom, always bustling about, full of energy, her laughter filling every corner of our home. And Sam, my brother, the one who tried so hard to be the responsible one after everything went wrong. The one who paid the ultimate price. I lost them. Every single one of them. I buried them, grieved for them, and now… they’re gone.I turn towards the mirror, the one that stands in the corner of my room, and what I see makes my breath catch in my throat. Staring back at me is a version of myself I haven’t seen in years. My face is younger, smoother, free from the lines etched by grief and loss. My hair is longer, darker, not yet streaked with the exhaustion that came from trying to survive the endless tragedies that followed. How is this possible. Did I go back in time? I look hurriedly around

The darkness swallows me whole, deeper and deeper, until there’s nothing left but silence. It feels like I’m floating, weightless, in an endless void. The air is thick, suffocating, yet somehow, I breathe. Time ceases to exist here—minutes, hours, days? I can’t tell. There’s no difference. There’s no sound. No light. No sensation. Just... nothing. Maybe this is what death truly is—emptiness. A quiet place where thoughts fade into oblivion, and everything ceases to matter. I can’t say I expected anything more, and nothing less. I drift through the blackness, waiting for the inevitable. But then… a flicker. Faint at first, like a spark in the distance, almost invisible against the endless dark. Slowly, it grows brighter, pulsing, beckoning. I’m drawn to it, helpless as it pulls me closer. The brightness came to a halt right in my face, I couldn’t help but reach out, wanting to feel more of the bright light. After what felt like years in the void, it was very welcome. There was a swit

Tears welled up in my eyes, my throat tightening with a sob that I couldn't release. My family—mother, father, brother gone. Every single one of them. And Lisa had been behind it all. My best friend, the person I trusted more than anyone, had orchestrated their downfall. The pain, the grief that followed, it all began with her. “Why?” I gasped, choking on the word, barely able to breathe as the horror of it set in. “Why would you do this?” Lisa stopped pacing then, standing over me with that same smile, that twisted, hateful smile. “Because I could,” she said simply. “Because it was fun.” Fun. Destroying my family had been fun for her. “And Josh?” I forced the question out, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer. Lisa’s smirk widened. “Oh, Josh. He was such a perfect little pawn, wasn’t he? At first, he didn’t believe me when I started whispering those little lies about you. That you were selfish, that you didn’t care about him. But after a while, I gave him reasons to

Chapter One: The sharp, metallic tang of blood filled my mouth as I lay motionless on the cold, hard floor. My body was too weak, too battered, and my vision blurred as the darkness slowly edged in. I could feel the warm pool beneath me, spreading wider, soaking through my clothes and into my skin, but my hands were useless now, trembling as they pressed in vain against the deep wound in my side. Each breath came in shallow, jagged gasps, burning my lungs, and I was choking—on blood, on shock, on disbelief. How did it come to this? How could it be her? Above me, Lisa stood—calm, poised, as if this was all a casual affair to her. Her carefully curated mask was down now, revealing the disgust and hatred in the familiar face I once trusted more than anyone in the world. I blinked, my mind struggling to process, to understand how my best friend, my closest confidante, was now the one watching me die. My body was shutting down, but my mind—my mind was still alive, still refusing to acc